I LOVE my home waters here in Southeast Louisiana just outside of New Orleans. There is great fishing to be had year-round! Every now and then, like most others, guides like to go to other places to fish. Whether it be to guide anglers or to do some fishing for themselves. Whether it be in their home country or somewhere across the globe. I always reccomend, time and again, Florida during the tarpon migration, joining thousands of others that flock to Florida at the same time for the same thing... To have a chance at a battle with the Silver King on a fly rod! I took this trip during the summer of 2015.
The peak of the tarpon migration in south Florida varies from year to year, but is typically during the spring months of April-June. My buddy, Chris with The Fisherman's Times, set up a trip with a handful of guys and invited me to join them at the house they had rented for the week. I was able to block out the dates and make the trip! I had a full day charter here in the Louisiana marsh the day I planned to get on the road to head down, but I just had to get going as soon as possible so I packed everything in the truck the night before and got on the road as soon as I said goodbye to my clients after a great day on the water. The trip down by myself was long and miserable, especially with towing the boat, stopping every few hours for gas, and making out-of-the-way stops to pick up some much needed new equipment like a new 1-piece push pole from Carbon Marine and a new anchor from Sea Claw.
After making my stops and driving what seemed like days, I finally made it to the Florida Keys where I would spend the next week hunting tarpon, enjoying the scenery, and hanging out with good people. Day 1 & 3 resulted in a few jumped Tarpon. Day 2 brought more of the same except this time I landed one estimated to be about 120 pounds. The fish are incredibly strong, agile, and absolutely beautiful. She gave us a view like none other as she jumped out of the water across the horizon. I've jumped and landed tarpon before, but every one is just as amazing as the last. It's what a fisherman's dreams are made of. I'm not sure exactly how long it took to finally get the massive fish to our hands at the side of the boat, but I would guess about 15-20 min. Depending on the fish and the anglers' skill levels this could take much longer, but you want to do everything you can to make the battle as short as possible for the sake of the fish. Once my fishing partner for the day, Diego, was able to grab her, control her, and prepare to revive her I put the rod down, removed the fly from the top of her mouth, and went for the camera. About that time, she took a big gulp of air and launched herself almost completely out of the water and almost into the boat. The best thing to do in this situation for your safety, the safety of your equipment, and most importantly the safety of the fish is to let go and do your best to keep her from jumping into the boat. That's exactly what Diego did and we were able to watch her swim off healthy. We didn't get the photos to share, but we got the memories and the pleasure in knowing she will live. Fortunately, Diego was able to capture a little video though. Here's what he put together.
The next couple days resulted in more hook-ups and jumps from monster tarpon and we also witnessed the famed Palolo Worm hatch, which was incredible. The tarpon thought so too as they gulped them down like candy. I don't have a lot of photos to share, but that's mainly because I was spending most of my time simply enjoying it all. Sometimes it's best to just leave your cell phone and others alone and simply live.
The group's time in the Keys came to an end and everyone went their separate ways with great memories. My time hunting the silver king was not over though! I then traveled to the Tampa area to meet up with Capt. Bryon Chamberlin of Barbed Steel Charters and Capt. Frank Rhodes, who was with us on the Keys trip. The first day was us 3 on Capt. Bryon's skiff. Capt. Bryon really knows his water! He seemed to know exactly where the tarpon would be, the routes they would be traveling, and how to present a fly to them in such a way it looked like a filet mignon to them and they couldn't resist. He was an excellent instructor and got me into the groove right off the bat and it paid off! First presentation of the first day resulted in a big tarpon jumped. She came unbuttoned, but I was ok with that! I had a lot more shots throughout the day, but my nerves got the best of me and it didn't help that the wind and tide caused some rough water conditions. Either way, I had a big grin on my face to bring to the second day. Frank wasn't able to make it on the second day so it was just Bryon and me. I have no idea how many quality shots I had at giant tarpon, but obviously most my presentations ended up looking like a cheap flank steak instead of filet mignon and the tarpon would laugh as they swam by my fly. I did end up getting 5 fish to eat that day and landed one Bryon estimated to be at least 115 pounds!
This fish was just as magnificent as the others and really put on a show for us with her aerial acrobatics. Then she took me into deep water and proceeded to kick my ass. Wow, she put up a fight! Every muscle in my body was engaged and I quickly began to fatigue, but I pushed through it and was able to get her boat-side where Capt. Bryon got his hands on her. A few really quick cell phone picture and a little nerve racking transition from his hands to mine before we revived her and she swam off healthy. What a fish!
After such a great trip, it was difficult to get back on the road for a long drive back to New Orleans. I wanted to stay and continue to enjoy the crystal clear water, beautiful weather, and massive fish, but fortunately for me I'm able to come back to a world-class fishery that produces some of the most aggressive and most sought after species of saltwater fish on fly, like REDFISH. I'm back home in the Louisiana marsh and it's a great time to be here! (when isn't it?!) Visit my Booking page if you would like to come spend a day on the water with me in the marsh!
For some of the most experienced dedicated Florida guides who are a pleasure to spend a day on the water with check out my recommendations below.
Barbed Steel Charters - Capt. Bryon Chamberlin (Tampa Bay area)
Rusty Fly Charters - Capt. Derek Rust (Florida Keys)
Strip Strike Charters - Capt. Paul Fisicaro (Florida Keys)
Tight lines!
Capt. Brandon Keck